I wanted to post a link to something, because there are so many people reading threads about DCTalk, Joe English, Ray Boltz and others here. CCM IS A BUSINESS. I believe SOME of the people involved are saved and sincere. I don't trust people in the machine any more than I trust the idiots who own or preach the Word of Faith, Blab n' Grab, Jesus Makes Life Easy nuts on TBN. When money is involved, people are doing what people do best. SINNING WITH IT.

PLEASE BE WARNED. An unsaved atheist backing vocalist, working for a CCM artist, published her insight into the world of CCM a couple of years ago. THERE IS LOTS OF POTTY MOUTH.

Wow. While there is truth in there, I'll take issue with the notion of Christian radio catering to "Becky". That's painting with too broad of a brush. I listen to K-Love and other stations in the car, and I hear songs about the cross, the empty grave, grace, songs emploring people to be the hands and feet of Christ. I hear the on air personalities taking phone calls and praying for people. I hear them promoting organizations like Cure Intl, and Compassion.
I'm not naïve though. When is the last time anyone went to a Christian concert where the background singers were ugly? I can't name one. Back in the 90's, my best friends thought the female singer for Dakoda Motor Company was a dream. Guys went to Cindy Morgan concerts because she was gorgeous and single. Same with RSJ. Both women getting hitched was earth shattering news.
It is a business that does what it has to stay alive. But, I do believe there are many sincere artist who believe it's what they are called by God to do, and that they are ministering to people, even if the business, to one degree or another, is molding them to turn a profit.

All radio is formatted for specific listeners throughout the course of a day. While the listener may not have always been called Becky the soccer mom, by and large, it is pretty the way it has been, since the 80s. Some of the networks do have more aggressive programming for younger listeners, but it is programmed for specific times of day when Beckys are busy. The facts are, the people who listen most are the Beckys. The people who spend the most money are the Beckys. Most Christian programming targeting the Christian male listener has less listeners and is treated as a show or feature. It is not the norm. By and large, the rock stuff you will hear is the summer CCM tour stuff (because the networks sponsor them), and they are programming to get Becky's children hooked on it, which sells the tickets, because Becky doesn't know how to discipline her kids, and gives them whatever they want so they will shut up. I am kidding. But the stations DO put the bug in the moms ears. When the churches put up the posters and start taking group ticket orders, the moms know who the bands are and sign off.

When I was in CCM radio, the rotation was different during the morning drive time than it was after 8pm. After 8pm, nobody listened, so we deviated from the rotation and playlists and played deep cuts and b sides. I miss those days. It seemed like a simpler time. The artists were uglier for sure.

I used to work with a guy at a church who co-wrote a song for a prominent CCM band with female members. They were married. The were told to dress younger, to attract 14 year old boys. They were not allowed to wear wedding rings in public. My buddy got sick and quit music.

I like music that challenges my faith. Unfortunately, praise and worship music doesn't do that for me, at least not lately. Radio is over-saturated with it. So much so that maybe that's why I don't enjoy my church's worship service like I used to. Sad to say, but when I hear it at church, I'm ready for the sermon to start instead.

That gal needs her mouth washed out with soap. I do understand where she is coming from to a point, but this is from the perspective of someone not claiming to be a believer. The point of view of a Christian pointing out things that aren't good about CCM or someone claiming to be a believer and then not living that way might be different. I kind of wonder why she doesn't get a job in the secular industry or just quit if she has such problems with the CCM industry. The Becky article makes some valid points, and so does Brian in the video, but things have a way of getting messed up where there are people and money. There are many things that can become a golden calf. That isn't new, and it's certainly not unique to the CCM industry.

Last edited by Shell on Tue Apr 26, 2016 4:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

brent wrote:I wanted to post a link to something, because there are so many people reading threads about DCTalk, Joe English, Ray Boltz and others here. CCM IS A BUSINESS. I believe SOME of the people involved are saved and sincere. I don't trust people in the machine any more than I trust the idiots who own or preach the Word of Faith, Blab n' Grab, Jesus Makes Life Easy nuts on TBN. When money is involved, people are doing what people do best. SINNING WITH IT.

PLEASE BE WARNED. An unsaved atheist backing vocalist, working for a CCM artist, published her insight into the world of CCM a couple of years ago. THERE IS LOTS OF POTTY MOUTH.

Interesting links, but they read suspiciously like the horror stories you get from any industry "insider" where someone takes all the worst that has happened to multiple people over an entire career and condenses it down to a single narrative. There's almost certainly truth behind it, but I suspect it has been somewhat exaggerated, especially coming from an atheist who has a vested interest in tearing down Christianity.

Carolina Petra Fan wrote:I like music that challenges my faith. Unfortunately, praise and worship music doesn't do that for me, at least not lately. Radio is over-saturated with it. So much so that maybe that's why I don't enjoy my church's worship service like I used to. Sad to say, but when I hear it at church, I'm ready for the sermon to start instead.

One of the benefits of going to a Deaf church is that there's not this almost obscene obsession with "praise and worship".

While it was interesting to read the stuff I'm by absolutely no means surprised. I mean, even bands like Petra, have put a lot of focus on themselves. And before you give me an angry reply take a look at backstage pass, take a look at any other video by them. Take a look in their covers and so on. Lots of pictures of the band members with their hair set up nice and they all look very stylish, charming and attractive. Do you believe their everyday look was the same as the look the have in the backstage pass videoes? So of course this is a factor and you are very naive if you ignore it.

There isn't anything intrinsically wrong with looking nice for a photo shoot if that is what happens in the business you're in. CCM is made up of people, and things do get messed up anywhere you have a group of people. I think this person is just as guilty of what she is complaining about as the people she is knocking. Why is she singing backup for a CCM band if she has such a problem with the industry?

I read parts of the article, but I'll just say that even though I don't doubt all - or most - of what the article says, I have issues with throwing blanket statements over every single CCM label or producer. I don't doubt there are some studios and/or producers that are really interested in taking the message out there and are doing their best to do so. But unfortunately, no organization or business is devoid of people that are trying to just take advantage or do what they have to do.

For that matter, there are churches and other Christian organizations around the world that are guilty of some of the things described in the article, so it's not just the CCM industry that's the problem. Even among Jesus' apostles there was jealously, infighting, bad theology, embezzlement, and even betrayal. As long as we live on this earth, we're just going to have to accept that sin and imperfection are part of the human experience. As someone once said, "I'd love to tell you, like Paul did, to follow me as I follow Christ, but I think in my case it's better if I just say to follow Christ."

Mountain Man wrote:For that matter, there are churches and other Christian organizations around the world that are guilty of some of the things described in the article, so it's not just the CCM industry that's the problem. Even among Jesus' apostles there was jealously, infighting, bad theology, embezzlement, and even betrayal. As long as we live on this earth, we're just going to have to accept that sin and imperfection are part of the human experience. As someone once said, "I'd love to tell you, like Paul did, to follow me as I follow Christ, but I think in my case it's better if I just say to follow Christ."

I agree. Sadly, it is part of human nature, so all those things are going to be present in almost every company, industry, and organization.

This doesn't have nothing to do with the article here, but it does have to do with the CCM industry, so I thought it would be appropriate to post here. It was shared via Twitter by the Official Petra account...